Reviews

Prince of Persia

Because there's no real sense of mortality, Prince of Persia makes a dramatic departure from many of its genre counterparts. There are no loading screens to break up gameplay when you accidentally send him to his maker. Since there are no worries about having sand to rewind time or the dreadful notion of waiting to retry, it's easier to jump back into the game from your last checkpoint and try again. It's a testament to this fluid feature that it never feels as though the game is holding your hand. You'll realize just how invaluable it is once you've cleared a section of the game world and start collecting Light Seeds. These luminescent orbs are the currency of PoP's world, and you'll risk life (well, not really) and limb to collect them once Elika removes all of the darkness from that stage. It's in these sections that you'll really get to test out your new platforming abilities and flirt with failure. Of course, there are incentives for hardcore gamers who are looking to make the experience tougher on themselves; if you can clear the game with fewer than 100 Elika rescues, you'll get a hefty reward, be it achievements or trophies.

Besides functioning as a conduit to exploration, Elika is as much of a combatant in battles as the Prince. PoP continues the one-on-one combat of the later Sands of Time games and adds some unique flourishes. Not only can the Prince slice at enemies with his sword or throw them skyward with his gauntlet, Elika can attack as part of his combos. Combat wasn't the strongest suit in the past Prince of Persia titles, but it's markedly improved here, thanks to Elika and some of the other elements. Not only can you finish battles by pushing enemies off of ledges, you can unleash a variety of combos on them that feel a bit smoother than in any previous titles. Blocks and parries take a little practice, but once you've gotten the timing down, they're fairly fluid and easy to pull off. Boss fights are more exciting and engaging than in past titles thanks to this new fighting system.

It's not just button taps that aid in the combat process. PoP's gorgeous cel-shaded animation -- lively and reminiscent of Okami -- gives player and enemy movements a fluidity that makes it easier to see when you're making a mistake, or when you're able to find a window of opportunity to parry that sword attack. The game's visuals are tweaked to give you immediate feedback on the action: Whenever the Prince makes a leap that could prove fatal, color desaturates. As the screen goes black and white, you might have a split-second to summon Elika's jump extension and save yourself. It's a small flourish that says volumes about PoP's blend of style and substance.

It'd be a shame to call Prince of Persia simply another series reboot. Truly great games of any genre assimilate proven ideas from other titles and introduce new ones. In this case, the new title combines strong platforming fundamentals, Assassin's Creed's open-world structure, and some of Okami's wonderful aesthetic flourishes. What it introduces to action games is something truly wonderful. Since the Prince can't die, the pace and rhythm of gameplay is never lost, yet it still offers a challenge even for hardcore gamers. Elika is something of a semi-NPC, as you never fully control her, yet she's a hugely integral part of the game experience, from rescues to combat. With all of these ingredients -- both new and familiar -- mixed together, Prince of Persia is undoubtedly one of the year's finest games.